Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1887-03-25
FREuONTS MEMORIES.
,uMErHING ABOUT one OF THE MOST GRAPH
IT, ANp INTERESTING PUBLICATIONS OF THE

SOMETHING AhilN ! 'lNf W ltt h'Nl hNNA ~
a. ANp INTERESTING PUBLICATIONS OF THE
DAY.
From the Boston AdNcrti~'r
To the countrymen of Washington who
accept as the first principle of American
stutccraft his precept to avoid all compiled
tions with foreign powers, there is some
thing fantastic and unreal in the suggestion
that the aim of the first scientific explorer
of our Western county could have been the
same that for centuries has impelled Euro
peau discoveries 10 face the heated blasts Of
the Horn and the icy terrors of the Polar
sea vet Lieut.. Fremont felt that he was
continuing the design of Columbus and
/ opening up to Europe new and direct
/ road TO that land Of tabled wealth, for the
/ possession of which the long struggle Of the
I ion and the Bear is still going ON. Like
the visions of Columbus. the dreams of Ere
mont are unfuliilled our country is not
vet enriched 10y the stream of wealth flow
mg from India to Europe, but his explora-
tions did open up land which fur
I Outshuur the wealth or OrnuS and Of Ind,
] or where thu. gorgeous Fast with richest hand
showers On her kings harharic pearl and gold
The Memoirs of my Life by John
Charles Fremont, tells III the simple form of
a diary. with the possible exception of the
records of LivlmgstOnes aud Stanleys Al
I rican expedition, the most romantic story
Of our day The narrative does not betray
the grim enthusiasm that inspires the Arc
tic explorer to wander over regions that
are forever shrouded in ice and snow it
does not tell of the luxuriant natural beauty
of tropical vegetation and animal life IN
South American countries, where the Jag
uar and the parrot are still as undlsputcd
posscssors of the forests as when the tray
eler first visited them Frtmonts travels
on the other hand, were in the temperate
zone he explored territory of vast eX
tent, II land of deserts and mighty rivers
he visited Suffer in his camp ON the Sacra
mento. living all unconscious of his oppor-
tunities, while the stamp of his horses hoof
covered him with golden dust and this re
gion he explored when it was given
over to the lowest grades of savage hfe,
when there was not "A city between the
Missouri river and the Sierra Nevada, when
the map which recorded his observations Of
his l0, 600 miles journey showed only the
Three Parks and Il few mountains and riy-
ers. when Idaho and Nevada, twice As large
rs New England, were the Great Basin,
contents almost unknown, but believed t.
he filed with rivers and lakes which have
no communication with the sea, deserts and
GASES which have never been explored, and
savage tribes which no traveller has seen on
described, and he lived to see it divided in
to well ordered states the home of civ
ilized men.
To those whose memory goes back L
: 1910, FrGmonts name is associated with I
romantic interest that belongs 10 no Other
, person of the time His character and ma
ture partly explain and account for hi
achievements Born of mixture of LatiI
. and Saxon blood, he inherited from hi
father a restless, roaming disposition and 1
love of investigating the secrets of nature
: Furthermore he became connected 10y mar
I riage with the energetic statesman who be
y leved that the United States should eXten'
! to the Pacific ocean, and who bent all IN
energies 10 accomplish that end, Twent
:, years before the outbreak % the Rebellion
= Fremont spoke confidently of the tim
y when "A railroad would span the continent
- and lac never lost faith in our natlono
unity. Inspired with glorious visions of hi
country's future, he was well equipped b
classical and scientific training for tn
details of his work His career began whe
- he surveyed the Cherokee country befor
= the removal of those tribes, and throug
" years of toll and hardship and gallant mil
= tary service he made his way almost To tn
- summit of an Americans ambition. III
lofty peak overlooking the South Pass beal
r. his name, and the maps of the present da
~ lay down across the great state which !
a. helped TO found the course of his thr,
~ journeys through its then unbroken wilde
- ness. These Memoirs possess a romant
=, interest far excellng works of fiction.
+, The work is printed in parts Or number
to of quarto size, the first ten of which col
o. stitute the first volume, and Il second vC
m ume will follow. The type is large, opt
|" ~ and clear, the paper is heavy, and the illu
-. trations are abundant and excellent b,
he ford Clarke & Co., of Chicago, are d
all publishers.